For centuries, many painters and more recently photographers have been inspired by the golden hour. It is recognised as that brief but captivating time shortly after sunrise or before sunset when the sun casts a soft golden light.

With a focus on transience, these works look into the nature of our experiences and to what extent these are filtered through a lens of our choosing. Time and reflection are integral in this creative process. Playing with the notion of nostalgia, these images question whether our experiences are truly as we remember, or more a representation of how we would like them to be.

In this investigation, the properties of the Claude Glass are referenced. Named after French painter Claude Lorrain, this optical instrument consisted of a slightly convex blackened mirror. The glass was popular in England in the late 18th and early 19th centuries with landscape painters seeking to capture the picturesque ideal. The artist would turn their back on the scene they sought to record, and holding the glass up, paint from its reflection. It simplified tonal values and gave the landscape a golden glow, allowing painters the day to capture what would usually have occurred for just a few precious minutes.

Drawing on this history, these images highlight the value in the fleeting and fragile in nature, and the momentary we become compelled to capture before it passes.